Although a decision from regulators on the billion-dollar deal is close, another cable company approached Federal Communications Commission personnel with concerns about News Corp.'s pending takeover of DirecTV and Hughes.
Cablevision said there's evidence in the FCC proceedings that suggest a News Corp./DirecTV combination "will heighten News Corp.'s ability to engage in temporary foreclosure during retransmission consent negotiations." The MSO said it discussed with FCC staff potential remedies aimed at restricting any anti-competitive leverage the media giant may gain in those talks.
Cablevision's efforts at the FCC follow work by a group representing other cable interests that said conditions should be placed on the News Corp./DirecTV deal.
Those conditions should address the potential threat of News Corp. withholding or threatening to take away must-have Fox programming, including regional sports channels and broadcast content, the group said. Cable interests are concerned News Corp. may attempt to extract "supracompetitive prices" from services competing with the satellite TV service.
